


Soft

by ShannynFaucheux



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Bakery, Birds and Trees - Freeform, Chill, Conversations, Fluff, M/M, Nature, Picnics, Scenery Writing Exercise, Slice of Life, Sunshine - Freeform, Very fluffy, cottage, i don't know what to tell you, ish, kites, shogi, some actual oxygen, villages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-11-02 01:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20567939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShannynFaucheux/pseuds/ShannynFaucheux
Summary: Their one day retreat to a certain cottage house.





	Soft

**Author's Note:**

> There isn't much to say about this one tbh..I just need to tell the reader a little about Shogi;
> 
> Shogi: Is basically Japanese chess. But unlike in chess, the captured pieces can be re-used during Shogi. A player who moves a piece first is called "black" or "sente(先手)", and the other player is called "white" or "gote(後手)".
> 
> In Shogi, there are a large number of possible defensive 'formations' referred to as “castles” ; I referred to ' Mino Castle' and ' Anaguma Castle '; Anaguma Castle is where you protect 'the king' by putting the king to the very corner of the board and surrounding it with many pieces. 
> 
> Lastly, in Shogi, the game ends by resignation when one player realizes that he cannot escape checkmate; That player says; '' Makemashita. '' and the other player says ' Arigatou gozaimashita. '  
That's it. I hope you enjoy it.

Soft

_Shirakawa-Go_, _Ogimachi Village in_ _Gifu Prefecture_;

Through the undrawn curtains, first orange light of the morning shines past the thin branches of the aged oak tree. The orange emerges in its full potential from the center of the horizon and hugs the blue and soft pink clouds; fresh yellow rays falls onto the youthful figure lying on the white sheets next to him. It is seven fifteen, Shiki pulls the milk-coffee coloured blanket onto the other’s bare shoulder-blades and leaves the bed at seven thirty; He enjoys the serene sight of _the light_ first;

_‘’- I am going to take a walk, Izaya. ‘’ _He whispers to _the light’s_ ear, and then wearing a parliament blue shirt and dark gray wash jeans, he leaves the _gassho-style_; thatched cottage house.

With a population of just over two thousand people; _Ogimachi Village_ is unforgiving in winter, but _remedial_ in summertime. This village is where his grandfather raised him, in this very house that he’s currently standing outside of its dark wooden door. He turns to the clouds, takes in the air and holds it in his lungs. The birds are already woken up, their thin chirpings fills ears. The wind is cool. Slowly re-opening the front door, he leans inside to take a dark blue knitted cardigan from the hanger, and leaves without taking his cigarettes.

It’s a little bit early for the bees and bugs to fly around; With his hands inside the pockets of his _once-fitting-now-oversized_ cardigan, he walks past the wildflowers and sharp green grass extending knee-tall in some places. He walks on the gravel road that he knows will take him to the inner village; to the bakery.

He sees that the exterior of the small bakehouse is re-designed to appear more modern. It doesn’t bother him, because its door makes the same cranky sound that it did fourteen years ago. He peeks inside, and sees; 

_ -‘’ Ohayo-gozaimasu, Ofumi-san. ‘’ _The old baker turns and sees him too, Shiki opens the door entirely and gives a bow before entering. Inside is hotter, he knows the bread is ready by the smell. The baker is kneading a piece of dough for the pastry, he grabs some flour and nods at him to come closer while making a string of questions following the rhythm of his work;  
-‘’ _Ah..Haruya-kun, ohayo._ How are you, when did you arrive? Did you bring that clever young man with you too, from last time?‘’ Somewhere Haruya, but with unforgivingly passing time, a little painfully _Shiki_; the executive gives a smile and rolls up the sleeves of his cardigan. He talks while walking to the little sink at the corner behind a bamboo folding screen, or a _byōbu;_  
-‘’ We got on the road last night, Ofumi-san. I thought the roads would be less crowded in the night. _The young man_ is sleeping, it’s too early for his _city-clock_ to wake up. ‘’ He washes his hands, dries them, then stands in front of the baker; ‘’- So, what do I do? ‘’

The baker’s pale hands carry the lines of his age. He points Shiki to walk behind the stand; ‘’- You know it already. If you’re this eager to help then, get to the dough while I check the furnace. ‘’

_Shiki cracks his knuckles;‘’- Hai. ‘’_

* * *

Shiki massages his forearms; either his limbs are getting weaker earlier than it can be considered _natural_, or seventy two year old Ofumi-san has an unusual strenght in his muscles. _Well.._ in either case, he is quietly proud to be the one who made the puffy milk-bread still warm and currently in a thin, brown paper bag that is sticked to his chest, radiating its warmth through his cardigan.

It is almost nine when he finds _the holy_ information broker of Shinjuku, resting his elbows on a lemon sorbet coloured picnic blanket and looking alarmingly _in peace_. The sunlight is stronger now, the early wind has long left its place to a _matronly _breeze that makes the green leaves rustle against each other. There is a tray next to Izaya, with two cups of coffee, strawberry and apricot jam, and cheese; Succesfully, and _hopefully_ without damage, found from the cabinets and prepared just before Shiki’s return from the bakery.

Shiki is _skeptical_ towards the scene, but there is a smirk in his skepticism as he settles next to Izaya and puts the bread bag next to the tray; ‘’- Do I need to be worried about the glass jars or?-‘’ He points the white porcelain where the faint pink coloured jam sits looking fresh and sparkling under sunrays. Izaya gives a chuckle tied to a sinister smile. With an exaggarated move of his hand, he pulls out a _shogi_ board and the wooden container which the shogi pieces can be found inside. Shiki let’s out an _‘ ooh..’_;

-‘’ Right, of course. How could I think the great informant would prepare breakfast just out of goodness of his heart. ‘’ He pulls out two slices of bread and extends for the silverware; ‘’- Can we at least eat before we play? ‘’ He asks, and Izaya joins him after letting out a _‘yes’._ _They both know it takes forever for the game to finish when they play._ Izaya goes for the apricot jam and scatters some onto the bread;  
-‘’ I am going to crush you this time, _executive_. ‘’ _Even in a god-forgotten village, his mind is always busy with games. Be it shogi, or plotting around the city. _Shiki smirks and huffs a short laugh;  
-‘’ Not with that impatience, _Orihara._ But we’ll see. ‘’ The coffee is prepared softer this morning, they don’t need _the buzz_ in here, the flavor is what is wanted, and Shiki is very pleased to see Izaya _understanding it _as much as he can.

A while later, the tray and the silverware is gathered and brought back into the house. Izaya has already lined the shogi pieces _for both sides_. Shiki settles across him and sits cross legged. He takes five pieces and scatters them randomly on the board to see who will going to start first. ‘’- You’re _sente._ ‘’ He says, and informs Izaya that he’s going to start first. After lining the pieces back to their places, they give little bows to each other without standing up;

_ -‘’ Onegai shimasu. ‘’_  
_ -‘’ Onegai shimasu. ‘’_ A shogi game starts with the two players wishing a good game to each other with the previous phrase.

Thirty five minutes later, there are four pieces in Shiki’s side that he can re-use in the game, and Izaya hasn’t made a move in four minutes. There is no time limit though, Shiki doesn’t like to pressure him while he _learns_;

-‘’ I told you, you put too much trust in _Anaguma castle- ‘’ _He points Izaya’s king on the board; ‘’- You can be great at _Mino castle_, since it’s more verstaile. Instead, _you choose to put walls around your main piece and block your potential._ ‘’ Izaya’s both hands are pressed to his cheeks, he is leaned to the board, his coal black eyebrows furrowed. He doesn’t reply back, Shiki decides to stretch out his legs and makes a turn to stand up;  
-‘’ I am going to make tea, do you want some? ‘’ Izaya nods, but his focus is entirely on the game.

Shiki takes a sip from his apple tea, Izaya’s cup is untouched; ‘’- That’s a bad move, I am telling you. _Stop being over-protective in areas you don’t need to be._ ‘’ Izaya hasn’t made the move that’s supposed to be bad, but Shiki knows he will. So, Izaya lets a sharp breath out and sticks his palms down onto the picnic blanket. The executive’s eyes then catches onto the little _thing_ right beside his pale fingers.

He puts the teacup to the side;

-‘’ Don't move ‘’ He says and extends his upper body to reach to the little _ladybug_ next to Izaya’s hand. He takes the red bug to his index finger. The next thing, he is talking to it;  
-‘’ Shall we tell _Izaya-nii-san_ that he can have four moves instead of _one_, if he breaks his castle-lining. _Hm?_\- ‘’ He asks to the red bug, Izaya makes his move and wraps his hands on his chest;  
-‘’ Ne.. Shiki, I once heard you talking to a stray dog, you talk to _Alphonso_ too, now the bug..’’ _Alphonso_ is Izaya’s cat who unfortunately favors Shiki more than him. Izaya adds; ‘’- Do you talk to flowers too? ‘’ Shiki doesn’t look at him but huffs an another laugh, the ladybug is still on his index finger as he makes his move;  
-‘’ Oh yes.. _I even play shogi with them._ ‘’ He then lifts his bright brown eyes and looks at Izaya, making the other look sideways;  
-‘’ No wonder why they used to worship you in _Kabukicho_..’’ Izaya falls silent after that, and makes his move five minutes later.

Shiki nods, looking at the board; ‘’- I play shogi with them, _and I beat them everytime_. ‘’ He makes a move and gives some time for Izaya to see he has no other moves left. With that, the informant resigns;

_ -‘’ Makemashita ‘’_  
_ -'’ Arigatou gozaimashita. ‘’_ They give one last bow to each other. After that, Shiki returns the pieces to the _exact position_ where Izaya inevitably lost, and explains his mistakes while also giving advice.

Finally, he adds;

  
-‘’ You know I always acknowledge the fact that you have the brain of a genius, Izaya. But the thing you refuse to understand about this game is that _it’s not about plotting, it’s about experience. _There is a reason why there are fixed castle placements, and the more experienced you are, the better you can reply back to the attacks. ‘’

He leaves the job of counting the pieces and putting them back into the container to Izaya; and lays down on his back, he can see the high branches of the trees that are intertwined with each other; _a tent on his eyes, blocking the sunlight in scattered lines._ A brown bird flies away.

Izaya gathers the pieces and brings them back to the house. Inside the bedroom, he digs around his small suitcase to find the Japanese copy of _Jean-Jacques Rousseau's_ _‘The Social Contract’_ that he has started reading on the road to _Ogimachi_. He finds the book and goes back out. He sees Shiki already asleep under the sounds of the birds and soft sway of the trees.

He _tries _to focus on the book, but after a short internal struggle, finds himself snuggling next to the executive. Shiki is wearing the shirt from last night’s car ride, he smells noble orange blossom hidden under wood and leathery notes. He must’ve been wearing _Ambre Éternel_ by _Guerlain _as cologne. Izaya brings his shapely fingers to his hair.

The second his fingertips brush the scar on his brow, Shiki opens his eyes. Izaya assures him, whispering to his ear;

-‘’ It’s just me. Don’t worry, an assasin from a rival family isn’t out to end you, _I’d know first_. ‘’  
_ -‘’ It’s not that easy. ‘_’ Shiki hums, and goes back to sleep under the other’s touch.

* * *

They eat dinner at five thirty, so that there is time to take an another walk before the sun sets. The sky of the village dancing with the twilight appears a little dull; with the slowly darkening blue waltzing into a hazy orange. They sit on a bench hidden in between long wildflowers and heavy branches of the trees bending onto it. There is a solitary streetlamp right above them, with it's dim yellow light already inviting butterflies that will look gray under its illumination.

Izaya re-opens his book; 

-‘’ Didn’t the doctor tell you to wear your reading glasses? ‘’ Shiki points out, Izaya answers without skipping a beat;  
-‘’ Didn’t the doctor tell you to start smoking less? ‘’ Shiki draws a long vowel sound on that, his brows up;  
-‘’ Someone’s still snappy about the_ shogi_ game, it seems. I haven’t smoked today yet, for your information. ‘’

After that, their eyes focus to the other side of the river where the children are flying kites on the wide grassland, knowing the fireflies will join them shortly;

  
-‘’ Ne.. Shiki, have you ever flown a kite? ‘’ Izaya asks, Shiki looks at him;  
-‘’ Of course I did.‘’ He then pokes the other’s boney shoulder; ‘’- Don’t tell me you haven’t. ‘’ Izaya refuses to look at him and lays down onto his knees, pulling the book to his face. Shiki laughs at him;  
_ -‘’ _I should’ve known_.. city boy. ‘’_  
_ -‘’ Village child. ‘’_

‘’- Ah.. is that so?-‘’ Shiki once again looks at the scenery in front of them; ‘’- But that _village child_ can find you a kite that you can fly before we leave tomorrow.. ‘’ He says, then putting a finger to the edge of the book, he lowers it from the other’s face. He blinks a playful right eye to him; ‘’- Hm? What do you say, do you want to try it? ‘’

Izaya doesn’t say anything, but brings the book back to his face_, slowly_. Shiki gets the message; ‘’- Alright, I’ll arrange something. ‘’ After that, he extends one arm to the head of the bench, and the fingers on his other hand interlaces into the other’s soft black hair; _‘’- City boy..’’_ He says quietly once again, unable to hold back another laugh.

_‘’- Haruyaa. ‘’_

In the end, _the city boy _is the one who immediately falls asleep from the _fresh oxygen_. Crawling to the faint coloured sheets, Shiki puts his right hand onto his one shoulder, and sticks his forehead to the back of his hair. The curtains are undrawn, and the moon is safe.

* * *

The next day, Shiki has to wake him up before the sunrise so that they can catch the early wind which would be strong enough to fly a kite. After a six minute struggle, Izaya wakes up; Shiki throws some clothes and the indigo blue cardigan he wore yesterday into his lap. They go outside and climb to a wide hill. There, the wind is slightly piercing in their chests, not to lie; making them wake up for good. 

Shiki instructs him; ‘’- You feel the direction of the wind?-‘’ He holds him by the shoulders and turns him; ‘’- _Run_, and gradually let go of the rope okay? ‘’

Izaya nods, but he is hesitant. He runs his fingers through the paper-like material of the fire red kite. _An unnecessary feeling of what if? _

_What if I fail?_

So, in the second the wind strenghtens, Shiki takes him by the hand-

And they run.

He_ has to_ let him go once the kite is flowing enthrallingly on the awakening gray sky. His upper body bends a little, he breaths fast; _‘ I need to stop smoking..’_ He thinks to himself as Izaya does the best thing he does; _He runs_, time to time stopping to watch the movements of the kite with sparkling red eyes.

Once successful of regaining his breath, Shiki yells; ‘’- You can stop running now, it’ll continue flying, Izaya.’’

Izaya slows down; _‘’- eeh, is that so? ‘’_ Shiki hears him say, and laughs for a full minute as he walks to his side. He has forgotten to take a coat, but Izaya is warm; he holds him from his shoulders and kisses him long and deep. This time, it’s Izaya who needs to stop to take a breath;

-‘’ This is fun. ‘’ He says, his black hair is all over with the wind. Shiki nods;  
-‘’ I have three days off next month. If you arrange your schedule, we can come back. ‘’ _Izaya wants to come back_; he gives the operation of the kite to the other and throws himself onto the grass. The white shirt on Shiki is slightly oversized, and _thin_;  
-‘’You’re going to catch a cold, you know that right, _young child?_‘’ _The young child_ is currently pulling back the kite, slowly, to give the moment it’s deserved _love_;  
-‘’ I don’t think so, but you’d take care of me if I got sick. ‘’ He says, and hears the other chuckle;  
_ -‘’ I would not._ But Namie can. ‘’  
-‘’ God forbid. ‘’

* * *

_Additional scene that isn’t fluff and the reader can choose to not read it;_

After a quick breakfast made with toast, jam and coffee, the sun is completely up, and it is time to get onto the highway back to Ikebukuro. However, Izaya knows there is one more thing Shiki has to do before they leave;

‘’ I will go pay my respects to my grandfather. ‘’ The executive excuses himself the same way he does everytime they come to this cottage. Izaya has seen him walk to a _very_ old sycamore tree not far from the house; he gets on his knees and talks to his grandfather there.

_And he once explained to Izaya; ‘ My grandfather planted this tree when he was seven. And before he passed away, he told me he would become the kami of this sycamore tree and still be my side if I were to need him. ‘_ This time, Izaya asks;

‘’- Can I come with you? ‘’ Shiki is in front of a slightly dulled vintage mirror, wearing a black blazer. He turns his head and looks at him. He knows Izaya wouldn’t be inappropriate towards matters that are _sensitive_ to him. So he makes a move of his head as in; _‘ Come along ‘ , _and walks to the door.

The tree’s arms do look embracing as they nestle under its shadow; On their knees, Shiki gives a bow and Izaya follows the movement from behind. A yellow bird joins them as the executive lifts his head up to the tree and stays silent for some time, maybe taking questions;

He then sighs and lowers his eyes to his hands on his knees; ‘’- I am not sure what to tell, grandfather. There isn’t much. ‘’ He says, but then bits the side of his lip upon feeling a light wind at the back of his neck; ‘’- _Well.._ I, haven’t returned my father’s calls. I am not planning to either. ‘’ He scratches the side of his browbone with his thumb and looks at the tree’s wide bole.

Izaya hears the sharp breath he takes in afterwards;

‘’- The child grew up to be an executive to yakuza, grandfather, _but can you tell me why can’t he forget that one simple slap in the face? Why is this simple thing hurts me the most, and deep after all these years? ‘’_ _Why can't I forgive? _A silence falls to the green leaves and the bird flies away as the wind gets stronger, but it doesn’t lose it’s gentleness; two thin arms slowly creep behind him and wrap him into a hug then. Shiki holds those arms and shakes his head a little; ‘’- I will not forgive him, just like he didn’t forgive me in the needed time. ‘’

* * *

Izaya is taking in the scenery of the rice fields and windmills from the lowered window of the car. He takes one fish-shaped cracker and places one to Shiki’s mouth too;

-‘’ Ne..Shiki. You told me your parents disowned you, but you never told me the reason why..’’ While Izaya is wearing round, dark-brown glasses, Shiki is wearing black _Dior_ sunglasses that are square cut;  
-‘’ Do you really want to know why? You might be underwhelmed. ‘’ Izaya shrugs a little and eats another cracker;  
-‘’ We have five hours on road, tell me. ‘’

‘’- If you say so..’’ So Shiki tells him;

‘’- There was this company with ties to the government of that time. They wanted to build factories around the village, which was obviously going to harm the river and the crops. So I.._uh,_ gathered together some of my _senpai’s_ and even _kouhai’s_ from school..-‘’ He stops to adjust his seat, then lowers his own window half-open, inviting the artifical wind; ‘’- Long story short.. a fire broke out in the construction site, and some charges were made against me which resulted in my father disowning me, saying that I lowered their heads down. But my grandfather understood my stance, and took me in. He raised me up. ‘’ Izaya pulls off his sunglasses in a one swift move, his mouth is wide open;

-‘’ You rioted against the government? ‘’  
-‘’ Look, I was thirteen I didn’t kno-‘’  
_ -‘’ You rioted against the government when you were thirteen? ‘’_ Izaya blurts out, then lets a long, amused laugh and turns to the window;

‘’- Fuck. _I love you, Shiki._ ‘’

Shiki considers just pulling to the side and jumping onto him, but then decides otherwise as there are meetings to attend back in Ikebukuro; ‘’- I love you too, _city boy._ ‘’ He says, and gains a _boney_ punch to his right shoulder.

It’s all okay. _It’s all soft._

**Author's Note:**

> People are out there writing burning hot bdsm fics and ya girl is here like ' kites and fish shaped crackers..' I'm-
> 
> One of these days, I'll write a bdsm fic too.. I will. But I am afraid it might come out.. very.. intense.. psychologically and philosophically..
> 
> Uh.. writing with this style makes me forget English like.. I am never sure about any sentence. But this was a scenery exercise; I wanted the reader to feel the fresh air of the forest in their lungs while reading this. Ahaha.D I played with colours and all..idk  
I won my boxing match btw.  
Tumblr; whitecircusbird
> 
> Have a nice day ^^


End file.
